The present invention relates to food products. More particularly, the present invention relates to formed food products made from fruits and/or vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables are currently marketed in several forms: fresh, frozen, canned, and dehydrated.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are marketed without substantial processing. Fresh products are only washed and trimmed of most of the non-edible portions. Frequently, fresh materials are held in refrigerated storage; but even with refrigeration, storage life is usually limited to about 21 days. An offshoot of the fresh market system is the xe2x80x9cminimally processedxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cfresh-cutxe2x80x9d produce industry. Fresh-cut produce is essentially fresh produce that has been made into a ready-to-eat form. All non-edible tissue is removed from fresh-cut produce; however, it is not heat treated nor given any other preservation treatment that would jeopardize the fresh character. Unlike most processing systems, which add shelf life to products, fresh-cut products are more perishable than the unprocessed fresh produce.
Frozen vegetables are high quality products if processed under well-controlled conditions, but they are very susceptible to quality loss, especially texture quality, if improperly stored and handled. If storage temperatures are allowed to cycle too widely, or if the product is allowed to thaw at sometime during distribution, cellular constituents are released from cells that were damaged during the initial freezing. Some of these constituents are enzymes that promote additional breakdown of other cells. These reactions result in a soft, mushy, soggy, or spongy texture in the product upon final preparation. Fruits are much more susceptible to the adverse effects of freezing, particularly the freeze-thaw cycle, than vegetables. Consequently, a very small percentage of the fruit crops are marketed as frozen products. Many frozen fruit materials are off-grade materials from the fresh market operations. Such off-grade materials are bulk frozen and utilized in further processed products, such as jams and jellies, toppings, and beverages.
Canned fruits and vegetables accounted for the major portion of the processed fruit and vegetable market for many years until the frozen vegetable industry was established. For fruit products, canning remains the primary processing method of preservation. While canning maintains nutritional quality in the products, flavor and textural quality is often less than desired. Most quality is lost due to the long cooking time required to provide a microbiologically safe product. For low pH (or high acid) fruits, the required cooking time is not very long. The products are relatively expensive because of the care required in picking and handling the fruit and the cost of other inputs, especially the cost of metal cans.
Dehydrated products account for a relatively small percentage of the processed fruit and vegetable market. Dehydrated potatoes are sold in significant quantities, but they account for a very small part of the processed potato market. Most other dehydrated vegetables are marketed as soup or stew mixes. Dehydrated onions and garlic are produced in large quantities, but these products are used primarily in further manufactured foods, such as sausage, canned soups, or the like. The major dried fruits are raisins (dried grapes) and prunes (dried plums). Except for wines, raisins are the only processed grape product. Prunes account for essentially all of the processed plum market. Both raisins and prunes are specialty products that do not resemble the fresh grapes and plums from which they were made. Cut dried fruits (such as apricots, peaches, and pears) are considered high quality food items. They are not consumed as alternatives to fresh or other forms of the commodities. The main drawbacks to cut dried fruit is their cost and addition of sulfur dioxide is often required to maintain quality. Even in automated cut dried fruit operations, much labor is required to make these materials, thereby resulting in excessive costs, compared to other product forms.
The products of this invention are restructured intermediate-moisture materials that combine the positive attributes of frozen, canned, and dehydrated products. The adverse effects of these conventional processing systems are also eliminated or reduced. This invention results in formed products that comprise partially dehydrated fruit and/or vegetable pieces contained within a gelled matrix. The products may be pasteurized and/or frozen without adversely affecting their quality.
The present invention relates to intermediate-moisture formed food products made from a mixture of partially dehydrated fruit or vegetable pieces and a gelled matrix such that water activity or the chemical potential of the water in the gelled matrix matches that of the fruit or vegetable pieces in the mixture. The product may be made of one type of fruit or vegetable alone, a mixture of different fruits, a mixture of different vegetables, or a mixture of various fruit and vegetable pieces.
The invention is also drawn to novel methods of packaging the intermediate-moisture food products described herein. These products may be packaged into any shape such as a sausage, bar, or string cheese shape, or even a novelty item such as a Christmas tree, Easter egg, or a golfball, among numerous possibilities. Products made in the shape of a sausage may be made using standard sausage stuffer machinery.
An object of the invention is to provide an economical method of processing fruits and vegetables.
An additional object of the invention is to provide healthy and portable snacks.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an alternative form for consuming fruits and vegetables.
The present invention provides for the ability to combine flavors of different types of fruits and/or vegetables. The product may contain a mixture of different fruit pieces, different vegetable pieces, or a mixture of various fruits and vegetables pieces. The gel portion of the product may be a blend made from two or more fruits, two or more vegetables, or various combinations of different fruits and vegetables. For some applications, such as foods for infants, toddlers, or the elderly, fruit or vegetable pieces may be undesirable in the product. In these cases, it may be necessary to reduce the size of the pieces by grinding or by replacing the piece fraction entirely with concentrated purees and/or concentrated syrups. Concentrated purees and syrups are present items of commerce. The outer casing of the product mat be made from plastic, cellulose, collagen, fruit or vegetable films, or any other covering that may be used to wrap foods.
An advantage of the invention is that the product may be sliced to precise sizes for portion control in special feeding programs. The products may be utilized in desserts, condiments, snacks, side dishes, and entrees. The products are especially well suited for institutional, food service, and delicatessen systems.
Another advantage includes the use of imperfect fruits or vegetables, particularly mechanically harvested, overripe, or organically grown fruits or vegetables.
A further advantage is that excess supplies of fruits or vegetables may be used.
Still another advantage of the invention is that processing of the food products of the instant invention may take place year round because partially dehydrated fruit or vegetable pieces may be stored long term.
The scope of the present invention is not limited to the uses discussed above or to the specific examples described below.